After an exhilarating quarterfinal win in penalty kicks over the Guelph Gryphons in the OUA quarter-finals on Wednesday, the York University Lions men's soccer team looked to book its ticket to the OUA and U SPORTS championships as they took on the TMU Bold in the second of two OUA semi-finals to be played on Saturday.
The Lions came into the day not knowing whether a win Saturday would qualify them for the national tournament, but after host Ontario Tech reached the OUA championship with a win in penalties over McMaster, the winner of this game would automatically qualify for the U SPORTS championships and a date with the Ridgebacks for an OUA title.
The Lions came out firing in the early minutes, as Luca Accettola had a corner and two other great chances in the game's opening two minutes. Then, in the sixth minute, Accettola stripped a TMU defender and drove hard to the net, taking a pass and beating Dante Ferraro to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
However, the visitors responded just 56 seconds later on a goal by a Luca of their own: Luca Di Marco. The ball was crossed into the box, where Alessio Carbone came out to play it but couldn't reach it, and Di Marco was able to put it into the empty cage to immediately equalize at 1-1.
Just over six minutes later, the Lions had a chance to regain the lead on a great chance for Yigal Bruk, but he was robbed by Ferraro, who just got his hand on it, and the game remained square.
Both sides went into a defensive posture after the high-octane start, as neither team was able to generate much in the way of offence for the remainder of the half. The Lions outshot the Bold 9-3 in the opening half, with the shots on target favouring the Lions 3-1, but the score stayed level at 1-1 at the break.
The Bold played a much better game in the second half, firing eight shots at goal in the second half, with five on target. The Lions best chance came on another chance from Accettola, bidding for his second of the match, but he sailed the shot well over the crossbar to keep it tied.
The Bold had several chances of their own to grab the lead late in the 90, but the Lions defence buckled down, with Carbone a playing a massive part with a couple crucial stops to keep the Lions level and send the game to extra time.
In the opening seconds of the first additional session, the Lions grabbed the lead. They jumped straight to the attack, with Matthew Fischer sending the ball down the near side to Justin Cicchillo, whose cross was stopped by Ferraro, but the rebound rolled right out to a waiting Fischer who pounded it home to give the Lions their second lead of the night, 2-1, just 24 seconds into extra time.
For the next half hour, it was nail-biting time for the home side, as the Bold looked for the equalizer to send the game to penalties. The Lions, though, had other plans, as they allowed next to nothing from the visitors, surrendering just four shots and only one on target. That defensive prowess that has served them so well, particularly in the postseason, came through again to preserve a 2-1 win and send the Lions to their 10th OUA championship in the last 11 seasons and their second consecutive U SPORTS championships.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will host one more game on their home pitch at York Lions Stadium in preparation for the U SPORTS championships when they take on the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in next Saturday's OUA championship game. Stay tuned to yorkulions.ca for updates on game time and ticket sales.
